“I’m being serious. I have two bodyguards who’re retired mercenaries, and they both took the lives of
others. The aura I sensed from Rebecca felt the same as those two men’s aura. More importantly, I felt
some calluses on her purlicue while I was shaking her hand—only people who spend a lot of time
holding guns would have such calluses,” Carl explained in a stern tone.
“Gosh, I guess Rebecca isn’t as simple of a woman as I thought she was!” Sonia gasped.
“That’s why you should stay away from her, Sonia.” Carl repeatedly gave her the same reminder.
However, Sonia shook her head in response to his words. “No, I shouldn’t stay away from Rebecca
when she helped me in the past—that would make me an ungrateful person. Furthermore, I trust that
she’d never hurt me.” Not everyone who has killed someone is a bad person, anyway. All the noble
soldiers who protect our land have blood on their hands, but we consider th
“No, it’s someone else. For some reason, there have been a lot of controversial news articles popping
up online today,” Carl replied.
Sonia was rather taken aback by this. “What sort of controversies?”
“Mr. Colehart of Hart Beauty Group was found to have a secret lover and child outside of his marriage,
Mr. Ellen of Nexus Technologies was revealed to have evaded his taxes, Mr. Reinard of Commute
Company was caught being a perpetrator of violence to his wife and children… The list goes on. There
were about thirty different CEOs from different companies who had their dirty secrets leaked online,
and the whole internet is a mess right now.” Carl’s coffee cup was already by the edge of his lips as he
spoke.
Sonia widened her eyes in surprise. “Could they have offended some big shot? Is that why someone is
making a fool out of them? But I don’t think it’s possible for so many different CEOs to have offended
the same person.”
“Who knows? Perhaps someone just did it because they were annoyed with all the CEOs’ bad
behaviors.” Carl chuckled.
Sonia nodded. “You’re right. Fortunately, Asher isn’t involved in any controversies; we’d see his name
online otherwise. I don’t care if he loses his reputation, but I don’t want it to impact Paradigm Co.’s
name.”
“Don’t worry. That will never happen to Paradigm Co.,” Carl uttered as he toyed with his coffee cup.
She chuckled at his words. “We can never be too sure about such matters, even if—” Her phone rang
before she could finish her sentence. She flashed Carl an apologetic smile before she glanced at her
phone. It was a local number that she hadn’t saved in her contacts.
“Hello, who’s this?” Sonia swiped the green ‘answer’ slider on the screen before placing the phone by
her ear.
The person on the other line was silent for two seconds before he responded. “Didn’t you save my
number?”
Sonia blinked a few times. “Is that you, Tim?”
“It is!” Tim replied.
“Who is it, Sonia?” Carl tried to look at her phone, but Sonia gave him a look, telling him that they
would talk later. She then shifted her focus back to the person on the call. “What is it?” she asked.
“Tina just contacted me. I’m sure it has something to do with you.” Tim gripped onto his phone by
pressing his shoulder toward his ear while he used both his hands to deal with the animal carcasses on
his surgical table.
“Why would you say that?” Sonia narrowed her eyes.
“Because she would never look for me unless she wants me to do something bad to you,” he replied
flatly.
She pressed her red lips together. “Are you saying that you’ve done something bad to me in the past?”
The scalpel in Tim’s hand froze for a moment as he strung his words into a sentence. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I
was the person on the motorbike who snatched your bag.”
“That was you?!” Sonia’s expression darkened as she stood up angrily. Carl got to his feet immediately.
“What is it, Sonia?”
“It’s nothing.” Sonia massaged the space between her brows as she continued to speak to the person
on the phone. “Where’s my bag now?”
“I threw it into a sewer tank,” Tim replied in a sorry tone. Back then, he hadn’t known that she was his
angel. Therefore, he went according to Tina’s request to deal with the phone after snatching her bag.
The phone consisted of footage of Tina pushing Sonia downstairs, after all.
“I won’t forget this, Tim!” Sonia could feel her lungs burning as a result of her anger, and she had to
take a few deep breaths before she managed to calm down the burning fire within her. “Tell me; why
did you call me today?”
“I just told you—Tina’s looking for me again, and I’m sure she wants to do something to you. I thought
I’d ask you over to hear more about it.” Tim was nearly done with his surgery, and he lowered his
scalpel and removed his gloves to wash his hands at the sink.
Sonia vigilantly clutched onto her phone. “How would I know that you’re not intentionally calling me
over so that Tina could attack me? I know that you and Tina are close, so why should I trust you?”
“I was close with Tina because I thought you were her. However, I will no longer be nice to her now that
I know her better. Furthermore, I hate how she always lies to me. If you don’t trust me, you can bring
some people along with you,” Tim replied while he rubbed soap into his hands.
Sonia went silent for a moment before she came to a decision a few seconds later. “Okay. Send me the
address.” Since Tim had offered for her to bring more people over, she would bring a safe number of
people so that she could escape even if there were a trap.
More importantly, if what he said was true, then Sonia would be able to predict what Tina’s next move
was. Soon enough, Sonia got a text message with Tim’s location. ‘I’ll be there ASAP,’ she replied.
Once Tim saw the text, he pushed his glasses up and stuck his phone back into his pocket. Then, he
took a bottle of medication out of his glass cabinet before he walked out of the room—a creepy
basement filled with all sorts of animal carcasses and a few human anatomical models.
“Are you heading somewhere, Sonia?” Carl hastily questioned Sonia when he saw her packing up. She
nodded before telling him about the conversation she just had with Tim. He immediately insisted on
following after he heard what she said.
Initially, Sonia intended to reject his offer since it was a grudge between Tina and her—she didn’t want
anyone else to get involved. However, she finally gave in when she saw the hopeful gaze in his eyes.
Both of them headed toward the exit together.
They had just left the office when Rebecca walked toward them with some documents. “Where are you
going, President Reed?”
“I have some matters to handle outside. What is it?” Sonia looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca waved the documents in her hands. “These are last month’s financial statements. You need to
go through them and sign them.”
“You can leave them in the office; I’ll take a look at them later,” Sonia replied.
“Okay.” Rebecca nodded. Her expression turned stern when she saw Carl standing beside Sonia.
“President Reed, is this…” Rebecca’s gaze was still fixed on Carl as she spoke. If Sonia hadn’t realized
the careful look in Rebecca’s eyes as she stared at Carl, she might have guessed that Rebecca was in
love with him.
“This is my brother, Carl Lee.” Sonia turned to Carl once she finished introducing him. “Carl, this is the
head of the finance department and also a good friend of mine, Rebecca.”
“Hello.” Carl pretended as if he hadn’t noticed the weird and judgmental look in Rebecca’s eyes as he
grinned and reached his hand out for a handshake.
“Hello.” Something flickered across Rebecca’s gaze as she held her hand out to shake his. Carl was
the first to pull away from the handshake two seconds later. Rebecca turned to glance at Sonia after
that. “Aren’t you an only child, President Reed? Since when did you get a brother?”
“He’s not my biological brother,” Sonia explained.
Rebecca raised her chin thoughtfully before she shifted her gaze back to Carl. “Mr. Lee, is your
surname actually Lee? Could you possibly be related to another family, like the Colemans… or the
Hayes!”
“What do you mean by that?” The warmth was fading in Carl’s face as he spoke. Sonia looked puzzled
as well. “Yeah, Rebecca. Why would you ask such a question?”
Rebecca beamed. “Please don’t misunderstand me. I just thought that he looks a lot like another
person.”
“Do you think I’m related to someone you know?” Carl glared at Rebecca.
Rebecca met his eyes without any hesitation. “Yes.”
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my surname isn’t Hayes or Coleman—it’s Lee. I’m not related to
the person you’re talking about.” After fixing his sleeves, Carl grabbed onto Sonia’s arm. “Okay, let’s
not waste any time. Shall we?”
“We’ll make a move now, Rebecca. We’ll talk once I’m back,” Sonia uttered as she looked at Rebecca.
Rebecca nodded. “Okay.” She then watched as Sonia and Carl stepped into the elevator before she
looked away and made a phone call. “Hey, old man, I found a teenager who looks a lot like the master.
I suspect that he might be the person we’re looking for. His name is Carl Lee. Can you find any
information on him?”
Meanwhile, Carl was talking as he drove the car. “Rebecca is no simple woman, Sonia. She’s
responsible for someone’s life! You should stay away from her.”
Sonia was shocked to hear this. “Rebecca killed someone? Stop scaring me, Carl. How could that be
possible?!”
em good people anyway.
Carl gave up when he saw how stubborn Sonia was. “Okay. But I hope you’re a little more alert with
Rebecca, Sonia. You shouldn’t put all your trust in her,” he muttered with a sigh. Sonia smiled and
nodded as she understood that Carl was doing it for her own good. “Okay. I got it.”
They arrived at their destination a while after they ended their conversation. Carl parked the car and
got out with Sonia. The workers then led the two of them to the private cubicle—Tim was waiting for
them there. He was standing in front of the window, toying with a tiny scalpel in his hand. He slowly
turned around when he heard a noise coming from behind him.
“Did you only bring one guy?” Tim took one glance at Carl before he shifted all of his focus toward
Sonia.
“Of course not. The rest of the men are hiding around near the area,” she replied calmly. While they
were on the way over, she had contacted a security company and spent 10,000 just to hire ten security
guards. All ten of the men should’ve arrived at the hotel—Sonia could sense that she was being
watched the moment she arrived at the building.
“Didn’t you ask me over to tell me how Tina’s going to attack me next? Where’s Tina now?” Sonia
glanced left and right as she questioned Tim.
He pulled a chair out and gestured for her to sit down. “Tina isn’t here yet, and she will not enter this
room. This room is where you’ll wait around to listen to her—I’ll have the conversation with her in the
room next door. I’ve already installed hidden mics in the room next door.” He pointed a finger toward
the electronic devices that were set up on the table.
“Is that so?” Sonia muttered as she placed her bag down and sat on the chair. Carl hastily sat down
beside her.
All of a sudden, Tim’s phone began to ring. He took a glance at the screen, and the light reflected
against his glasses for a moment before he stuck the phone into his pocket. “She’s here. I’ll go over
right now.”
Sonia nodded, and Tim tidied his outfit before he strode out of their room. Soon enough, Sonia could
hear the sounds of people talking through the audio monitor that was placed on the table. The voices
belonged to none other than Tina and Tim.
“Where did you go? The room was empty just now.” Tina began to complain the moment she saw Tim
walking in. She wore a look of disdain on her face. Tim would always arrive earlier whenever she asked
to meet him, and he would sit in the room while waiting for her arrival. That was the first time she had
walked into an empty room, and it made her displeased as she felt as if Tim wasn’t taking her seriously.
“I went to the washroom. I’m so sorry,” Tim uttered as he pulled a chair out to sit down.
Tina’s voice was firm and clear as she dropped the bomb immediately. “I’m asking to meet you for none
other than the same reason—Sonia. This time, I want you to kill her immediately!”
Tim narrowed his eyes a little. Meanwhile, Sonia felt chills running down her entire spine. I can’t believe
Tina is actually asking Tim to kill me! Is she trying to get someone else to do the job since she failed to
do it on her own?
“Sonia…” Carl tightened his fists. His usual, kind expression was replaced by a stern, icy look. “That
woman is just too evil!”
Sonia pressed her red lips together. “I know. I knew it all along.” Sonia had a feeling that Tina was a
malicious, unkind woman ever since they were in university. However, it was only after Tina woke up
from her coma that Sonia had thoroughly understood something. Tina doesn’t even have a conscience
—she is pure evil.
“Did she trigger you in any way? What got you furious to a point where you’re asking me to murder
her?” Tim lowered his gaze to conceal the hatred in his eyes as he poured a cup of tea for Tina.
She pushed the teacup aside. “You know about Toby’s accident, right?”
Tim eyed the teacup for a moment before his gaze dimmed a little. “Of course. However, I’m on break
today, so I didn’t visit him at the hospital.”
“Toby got into an accident near Bayside Residence, and it happened at about 11.00PM last night. My
father called him and told him to come over to my house then, but he rejected my father and drove to
meet Sonia instead. How am I supposed to keep my cool in this situation?! How can I not hate Sonia?!”
Tina’s facial features were scrunched, and her body was trembling as she spoke.
“Alright, alright. I’ll agree to your request, then. Why don’t you have some tea to calm yourself down
first? You only woke up a few months ago, and your body hasn’t fully recovered yet. It’s not good for
you to get so worked up.” Tim placed the teacup in front of her once more before coaxing her to drink
the tea in a gentle tone. Tina loved the feeling of being flattered and cared for—she held her head up
and took a glance at Tim before she agreed to his words. “Fine. Since you’re being so thoughtful, I
guess I’ll take one sip of it.”
Tim smiled without saying anything more. She raised the cup and sipped on the tea. “Why does it taste
a little sweet?”
“I added some sugar since you mentioned that the tea was a little too bitter the last time.” Tim pushed
his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Tina didn’t suspect anything as she continued to sip on the tea.
Before she realized it, she had finished the entire cup of tea.
A barely visible smirk formed on Tim’s lips as he looked at the empty teacup before his eyes. At that
very moment, Tina’s phone began to ring. She grinned in surprise when she saw that it was a call from
Jean. “Madam White, is Toby awake?” she uttered the moment she picked up the call.
“Yeah. He just woke up,” the voice replied.
“I’ll come over immediately.” Tina got to her feet. Once she kept her phone away, she turned back to
look at Tim. “I don’t know how long more I’d have to wait if I were to wait for Sonia to abort her child. I
think we should give up on the plan to kill her during the surgery.”
“What do you want me to do, then?” Tim got to his feet as well.
Tina balled her fists as she pulled her lips into a cold grin. “A car accident, a kidnapping, poisoning—
anything that can kill her and her little baby in the quickest way possible. You can do whatever you wish
to—I just don’t want to hear you fail again. I’ll forgive you for that last time, but if you fail this time, I
won’t talk to you for the rest of my life!”
Tim looked as if he was shocked by her words. His naturally fair complexion made his face seem paler
than usual at that moment. “Don’t worry. I won’t fail you.” His eyes were filled with determination as he
stared at Tina.
Tina let out a contented scoff before she turned to leave. Tim is just a dog that comes whenever I tell
him to. I know him well—the one thing he’s the most afraid of is to be ignored by his angel. That’s why
I’ve been using his weakness as a threat so that I can get him to do all sorts of things for me.
Once he saw Tina’s figure walking out and disappearing from his sight, Tim removed his glasses and
began to clean it without any expression on his face. He no longer looked shocked by her words. Did
she threaten to ignore me for the rest of her life? Does she think she’s going to live for long?
Right then, the sound of the door came from behind him. Tim put on his glasses and turned around to
meet Sonia’s icy glare. “Don’t worry. I won’t actually do anything to you. I just pretended to agree to
her.”
“Don’t trust him, Sonia.” Carl eyed Tim suspiciously. If this man can agree to kill someone so easily, if
he could utter such words without any hesitation, it just shows that he must have had some history of
harming others. Furthermore, this person’s actual intentions seem to be very well-guarded—I can’t
read him at all. Sonia will probably lose her life if she were to interact with such people.
“I know.” Sonia nodded. She knew that she couldn’t trust Tim, even though he had saved her in the
past.
“What did it mean when Tina said that you failed to go through with the plan the last time?” Sonia dug
her nails into her palms as she looked up and glared at Tim.
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